"Around here, however, we don't look backwards for very long. We keep moving forward, opening up new doors and doing new things...and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." ---Walter Elias Disney

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

B Is For.....Boma

Apologies in advance for this being the worst dining review ever. I don't remember exactly what we ate and I have no idea what it cost, but I do know that Boma, the buffet restaurant inside Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, made a huge impression on my family and we can't wait to go back in September.

The last time we spent a week at Disney, back in late August of 2006, we had taken advantage of the free Disney Dining Plan offer that was current at the time. When I was planning our dining reservations, or ADRs in Disney speak, I wanted to try some new places, as it had been quite a while since either of us had spent much time at Disney World. Disney's Animal Kingdom was new to us, and so was the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I found Boma and figured it would give us a great excuse to visit the new deluxe resort and maybe try something new, as Boma had an African-influenced menu. As an aside, visiting Disney's resorts is an attraction in itself. All of them have their own theme and charm, from the All-Stars to the high-end deluxe resorts, all are worth checking out. Eating in the resort restaurants gives you a great excuse and opportunity to poke around these places.

Boma is located on the bottom floor of the Animal Kingdom Lodge, across a hall from Jiko, the AKL's more upscale dining spot. Not that there is anything low-class or cheesy about Boma. The dining room is bright and open and full of African artwork. It is not a quiet place, but, hey, it's a buffet at a family resort, nobody should be surprised. The buffet itself is not your typical Western Sizzlin' steam table affair. Most of the food was at least finished right there at the buffet table and everything was always full, fresh and hot. I am having trouble remembering exactly what we ate, it was largely nothing we'd had before or since, but it wasn't so exotic as to scare off timid eaters. I do remember wishing I had a bigger stomach because everything was so very delicious.

When we planned this trip coming up in September, we wanted to try as many new places as we could. We did, however, all agree that a return to Boma was essential. I can't wait.